WWE: The Attitude Era DVD Review

Millions of fans have called then-WWF’s “Attitude Era” as the greatest point in the history of the company. Considering the amount of legitimate stars that made their careers during that time, as well as the millions upon millions of dollars in revenue WWE did month after month for four or five straight years, it’s hard to argue that point. For the younger fans who weren’t around for that era, or maybe fans that just didn’t tune into wrestling until later or dropped off before the era started, WWE’s latest DVD set, The Attitude Era, is a great reminder.

This is a DVD that fans have been clamoring for, and they certainly won’t be disappointed. The entire span of the era is covered, and the coverage overall is pretty extensive. There are interviews with many people who were part of the era (including a brief-yet-surprising appearance by Vince Russo), as well as various clips from different points. The DVD starts off kind of cool, giving a brief history of the company up until that point. From there, different facets of the era are analyzed by those that lived it. While great matches and memorable moments are discussed, there’s a lot more to it than that. We get the talent analyzing things like the different characters, specific segments, talent divisions, and even entrance themes. It’s cool to see all of these talents (especially Christian, who gets a surprising amount of screen time here) reminisce about the era, and give their take on such a varied list of subjects.

While I did really enjoy the documentary part of this DVD, it was painfully short. This is really surprising considering how important the “Attitude Era” was to pro wrestling history. This point in time could easily get a 3-4 hour documentary and be made really enjoyable. However, it only goes about 90 minutes, which isn’t nearly enough to cover everything that happened during that famous half-decade. Also, the list of subjects interviewed for the DVD is extremely limited. For the insane amount of talent that worked for WWF during that point in time, I don’t think Vince McMahon really used the resources available to him. Yes, we get pieces from major players from the time like Mick Foley, the aforementioned Christian, Rikishi, JBL and Pat Patterson, but guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are simply featured in clips from their own DVD sets. I realize both these guys are extremely busy, but it would have been nice for Vince McMahon to shoot this DVD around their schedules so we could get some new comments.

While it’s sad that major players are missing, those that are present tell some great stories. The Road Dogg and Ron Simmons are both extremely entertaining during their talking segments, as is Mark Henry. Plus, those that did contribute were extremely insightful. I didn’t realize that the infamous “Brawl for All” tournament was accidentally created by something said by JBL. He went to Vince Russo with the idea of a hardcore division, and that somehow translated into “guys shoot-fighting each other”. While the ill-fated tournament was horrible, it was funny to hear that pretty much everyone involved agreed on how bad the idea was. Another really note-worthy story is from Pat Patterson, who talks about a match he had with Gerald Brisco against Rodeny and Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse. As strange as it sounds, it turns out that until the “This is Your Life” segment came across, this particular match was the highest-rated segment in company history. You wouldn’t expect that, but it just goes to show that, during the era, anyone could be made a major star, and everyone had their place in the company.

While I would have liked the documentary to be much longer, there is also the matches/segments on the DVD to examine. In this department, WWE definitely delivered. There are some truly great segments included on this set, as well as some forgotten gems. For example, “The Nation of Degeneration”. For those that might not remember this, it’s a parody of the Rock-led Nation of Domination, done by D-Generation X. I remember laughing hysterically during this segment when it first aired, and 14+ years later, it is still incredibly funny. Not only was the entire group just on that night, but part of what makes it so enjoyable is you can hear commentators Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler legitimately rolling during commentary. J.R. tries to hide it by doing these pseudo-silent laughs, but they come across loud and clear if you pay close attention.

There’s plenty of great moments from the usual suspects like The Rock, Austin and Foley, as well as quite a few I had forgotten about. Vince McMahon crowning Mankind the first Hardcore Champion, Edge’s birthday, GTV, Chris Jericho’s debut and Mike Tyson are all included here. In addition to these, there’s a nice selection of matches that many people have likely not seen or have at least forgotten. There’s a great Jericho/Eddie Guerrero match from the night after Wrestlemania 2000, tons of fun tag team matches (including the very first TLC match), A Buried Alive match for the tag titles, as well as one of my all-time favorite Hell in a Cell matches, that being the Armageddon 6-way.

There are a few odd choices in here as well, as usual. Bart Gunn knocking out “Dr. Death” Steve Williams is hard for me to watch for obvious reasons, but it’s on here. Obviously, the reason is because the “Brawl for All” tournament is discussed pretty extensively in the documentary, but it still feels strange on the set. The very first “Lion’s Den” match between Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart also appears, as does a title unification match between European Champion D’Lo Brown (or D-Lo, depending on what week it was at the time) vs. Jeff Jarrett. These couple of matches weren’t necessarily bad, but just seemed like strange choices for the set. In addition to being far from classics, they are strange in that both Jarrett and Hart’s widow Martha have such extensive issues with WWE. Oh, well.

Fortunately, the oddball or even bad choices for matches and segments are outweighed by the good ones. There are roughly 5 ½ hours of matches and segments on this 3-disc set, and considering how much good stuff is featured in those hours, you’re sure to find something you like.

This DVD is all about nostalgia, and that’s perfectly okay with me. Watching this set was like a trip down memory lane, and it was a trip that I really enjoyed. I loved being a fan during the “Attitude Era”, and watching this DVD brought back all kinds of great, fun memories for me. Not everything about the era was perfect, but there was never a more enjoyable point in pro wrestling or WWE history, at least for me. Listening to the stories, watching the matches and segments, this is a DVD that I honestly had a lot of fun watching. Seeing some of these moments brought a smile to my face and made me laugh. Some of them made me cringe or shake my head. None of them ever made me feel bored or like watching was a chore, and in my book, that’s a DVD done right.

If you were a fan during this famous era, you owe it to yourself to pick up this DVD, as I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did, if not more so. If you weren’t a fan at that time for whatever reason, I still recommend this set, as it’s a good indicator of why millions of wrestling fans were so in love with the sport at the time, and why so many new fans joined the fold. Although it’s somewhat of an incomplete collection in my opinion, it’s still a lot of fun, and is not only a great reminder for other fans during the decade, but a great way to introduce new, younger fans to possibly the greatest era in pro wrestling history, as well as show fans who had tuned out during that time what all the fuss was about.

Dustin Nichols is a freelance writer, and you can keep track of all of his work on his Facebook page, which can be found at www.facebook.com/DustinNicholsWriter. Oh, and if you like bodybuilding, check out my mom’s official site by clicking the banner below:

Friends Of The CCB

About

Welcome to the Camel Clutch Blog. The CCB was born in 2007 and features blogs from over 50 different writers. Articles from the Camel Clutch Blog have been featured by some of the world's most respected websites including; CNNSI.com, Foxsports.com, Yahoo News, Business Insider, MSNBC, NBCsports.com, and more.

Writers Wanted

Do you have a passion for blogging? The Camel Clutch Blog is proud to have featured over 50 guest bloggers and contributors since its inception. The CCB is a great outlet for your blogging or a great way to promote your own site, blog, and/or podcast through Guest Blogging. The CCB reaches millions of people per year and you can be sure you will be read when you post on the CCB. Email Eric Gargiulo at [email protected] if you are interested.